Wow! The first weekend of my two-weekend "The Dystopian Tradition: What Worlds Gone Wrong Can Teach Us" event was spectacular, with amazing students and fascinating discussions. I'm very much looking forward to the second half of the event. Thanks to everyone who participated!

In other news that makes me happy, I've just proofed the final galleys for two of my essays which will be published soon. “Feminism, Frankenstein, and Freedom: The Individualistic Works and Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley” will appear in REASON, and "Seeking Dumbledore's Mother: Harry Potter in the Native American Context" will appear in Harry Potter for Nerds II (along with works by several of my current and former graduate students, I'm delighted to say).

In addition, my proposal for the essay "His Fordship in the Capitol and Big Brother in the Districts: The Hunger Games and the Modern Dystopian Tradition" has been accepted for the forthcoming 2016 scholarly volume Critical Insights: The Hunger Games.

WOW is LJ a blast from the past or what?! I don't think Ive been on here for SEVERAL years.

Well, thank you kindly for remembering me for my birthday! I am definitely older, MUCH grayer (about 60% now...but I won't mind telling you I plan to ROCK it) and if Im any wiser its that life is short and regret is wishing for a time machine so I could have re-dos...or at least take those opportunities that flung themselves at me like fans at a comic con...